ARTICLES ABOUT SUICIDE BY DATE - PAGE 3

NILES - Victims of sexual assaults allegedly perpetrated in part by Martise Washington took the stand Wednesday in Berrien County Trial Court, with both testifying they feared images would be posted on Facebook should they not perform various sex acts. Martise Washington, 18, of Niles, is the first of five teens charged with a variety of sex, extortion and pornography offenses to go on trial. The most serious of the charges against him are three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a maximum life offense.

WASHINGTON While diplomatically inconvenient for the Western powers, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' attempt to get the U.N. to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state has elicited widespread sympathy. After all, what choice did he have? According to the accepted narrative, Middle East peace is made impossible by a hard-line Likud-led Israel that refuses to accept a Palestinian state and continues to build settlements. It is remarkable how this gross inversion of the truth has become conventional wisdom.

SOUTH BEND - A national expert on the topic of suicide will lead a workshop Monday and Tuesday for students and medical professionals. Thomas Joiner, a psychology professor at Florida State University, will lead the workshop, titled “Helping the Suicidal and Survivors of Suicide Loss,” on Monday at Indiana University South Bend and the following day at Century Center in downtown South Bend. Joiner also will present a free public lecture at 6:45 p.m. Monday in the Recital Hall (Room 158)

SOUTH BEND -- Speaking at a local public event for the first time since her death, Tom Seeberg described his daughter, Elizabeth "Lizzy" Seeberg, as kind, generous, and, invariably, "ready to take on the day." "She was not a doom-and-gloom young woman," the Northbrook, Ill., man said from beneath a rain-soaked tent Saturday at Howard Park. "But she drove into a real tough storm, and she couldn't get out of it." Lizzy, a Saint Mary's College student, committed suicide in September of last year, a week after accusing a football player of sexually assaulting her inside a University of Notre Dame residence hall.

SOUTH BEND - The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention announces the first Out of the Darkness Walk at 9 a.m. Saturday at Howard Park. The walk will benefit the AFSP and its Indiana chapter and will help fund research, education, advocacy and prevention initiatives designed to reduce the loss of life from suicide as well as provide support for survivors. To register or for information, visit www.outofthedarkness.org. or call 574-276-8215.

Police who investigated a man's claims that he was stabbed twice last year along Riverside Drive in South Bend are now questioning whether the victim may have lied to cover up possible suicide attempts. An alleged assault that occurred early Tuesday morning in Mishawaka is the third time the 46-year-old man has reported to police he was stabbed or cut by assailants. The other two cases occurred in South Bend in July 2010. The man, who The Tribune is not naming, also reportedly attempted suicide on Jan. 4, Jan. 14 and June 26 this year -- leading police to believe he may have covered up the other possible suicide attempts by saying he was assaulted, said South Bend Police Capt.

ANNIE'S MAILBOX KATHY MITCHELL AND MARCY SUGAR Dear Annie, Recently, my 49-year-old sister committed suicide. She lived with my partner and me for the last 18 months. I find it harder each day to understand why this happened. I am upset, angry, troubled and confused. My sister was bipolar and on medication. She had attempted suicide before, but tried to fight the self-destructive thoughts, admitting herself to the hospital when necessary. We assured her that she could live with us forever and that we loved having her with us. She was so good with our dogs, and they seemed to be a comfort to her. We never had a clue what she was planning, and she had it all planned out two weeks ahead.

A 19-year-old who took her life Monday by standing in front of a South Shore commuter train had been sentenced in January for causing a fatal car crash when she was 16. Members at Springville Free Methodist Church prayed for Jessica Johnson and her family during a service Wednesday night. Johnson occasionally went to the church north of LaPorte where her mother, Sara, and sister, Michelle, also attend. "Everybody feels for Sara and her family," said Cheryl Bedtelyon, whose husband, Luke, is the church pastor.

SOUTH BEND -- A man being investigated for sexually assaulting his daughter took his own life on Wednesday morning, police said. The man's wife returned home from work about 9:30 a.m. and found her husband on the living room couch with a gunshot wound to his head, according to a police report. The wife told police he had been feeling very depressed of late. The daughter filed a police report on Aug. 23 claiming that her father has been sexually abusing and raping her for years at their home, while the mother was working.